Retractable step



June 10, 1952 N, J, HARVEY 2,599,529

RETRACTABLE STEP Filed May l, 1946 i ax/2 37 1N VEN TOR. NoRMAN J. Ham/EY AGENT Patented June 10, 1952 UNI TED 'S TATES PATE N T F i-CE ARE'IRACTABLE "STEP Norman J. Harvey, Bellevue, Nebr.

Application May 1, 1946, Serial N0.666,47 9

4 IClaims. I 1 This invention is a `retractable utility step. lSmallehildren, when making use of a lavatory,

usually require 'a step lor support of some kind upon 'which ,to stand. -An ordinary step, `as gen- Ae'relly employed is not particularly satisfactory Af'orthe purposesince such a steprmight be easily Atippedfe'specially iffniit placed-in exac'tly the lright position. A child using such a step, may place i'tinl-thie lwrong `position and, in attempting to reach the lavatory, 'may `stand on the edg'e `and thus tip thes'tep overfpo'ssibly resulting in injury to himself.

-Itiis,`thereore,-a primary object of myinvention to provide `a utility step which Lis self-positioning, retractable to an out-of-the-way position, and easily operated.

Another prim-ary object of my invention is to provide .a simple utilitystep of improved shape,

and fone which is'particularly adapted for the `use o'f children.

It islanother object of my invention to provide -suhfa simple utility step with'mounting means adapted to secure the step in the position in which v.it is normally used and thus prevent its 'tipping over, or to support it in a raised, out-oftheyway position, againsta wall, when it is not needed.

A still further object of vmy invention is the provision, in a device of this nature, of means for 'mounting a utility step in such a manner that it may be removed `from its supporting mechanism `fand used elsewhereas a simple utility step.

"Otherand further features and objects of the invention'will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompany- "ing drawings and following specifications, where- `in are disclosed several exemplary embodiments di the invention, with the understanding, however, that'such `changes vmay be made therein as fall within the scope of vthe `appended claims,

without departing from the spirit of the invenf-tion.

In the drawings: nFigure `1 is a view in perspective illustrating a VFigure 2 is a longitudinal view, in section, of theutility step and its supporting mechanism as "taken'falong the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

`Figure 3is a view, in section, of the step as ltakenfalong the line I3-*3 of Figure 2.

yFigure 4 is a vertical sectiontaken along the 'line 4--4 :ofthe wall bracketshown inFigure 5.

Figure 5 is a top view of thebracket shown in .2 Y `Figure 4, "with the lcover removed 'te better `show the mechanism, 1 and I .Figure '6 is a view in perspective of aa mod-ied 'form of my wall mounting-bracket.

Referring now to these drawing-s, and particularly to Figure l thereof:

The uti-litystep which I V.have indicated generally at I0, is hingedly connected, 'by m'eans'ef e. pair :of arms II and SI2, `to the wall brackets 'in'- dicated generally by thevnumerals I3 `and I4-,fand `thesernemb'ers are securely mounted, bymeans of wood screws or the like, on `the baseboa'rd `I5 beneath'the lavatory I6. The normalpositionof the stool `is that shown byfsolid lines in Figure 1, 'the position being the one best `Suited for theuse of smallchildren making-use ofthe lavatory. v'Bhe stool, `when not actuallyin use,may betilted upwardly and rearwardly to an `out-of=theway `position beneath the lavatory asl indicatedlat 'Illa by dashed lines.

The utility stool It includes the 'panel-like `end members or legs Il. These end panels are secured together in spaced relation by means'of the top-panel I8 andthe narrow side walls I9V and 42li. which members are flanged, as at`2l, `to permit their being secured to the end panels byfspot weldingo'r the like. A generally Ushapedreinforcing rod22 is 'secured to the legs 'by braking the edges of the end panels about the upright vportions of the U-shaped member as shown at 23, and -the lower edge 24 fof fthe narrow iside `wall panel is similary bentwaround the cross portion of the -U-shaped reiniorcingleg, the leg being securely held in place by spot welding or thelike.

Rubber feet 25 vare secured vat the ends of each end panel, 'as shown in Figure 2, by means ofthe small metal straps 26, which members `are spot welded to the end panels. The wooden-top 21 is secured to the top `panel I8 V.by means of wood screws 28.

The legs of the'steppreferably nare outwardly at the bottom, as shown in the drawings, toisuch an extent that the edges of the wooden top 2l lie above or within the area outlined by the sle'gs.

A hinge plate 29 is `spot welded, `or otherwise secured, to the inner surface of the narrow `side panel 20, and the strap-like portions 30;-30, formed as extensions of the lower edge `of this plate, are turned or bent upwardly, as best shown in `Figures 2 and v3, toprovide a pair of clips to receive the cross portion 3l of a generally U- shaped guide member 32 formed of iron rod or the like. The upright portions of this U shaped Vguidemember 32 provide the mounting 4,arms II `and I2.

The hinge plate 29 is so formed that the outermost ends of the strap portions 30 iiare outwardly to permit the ready removal of the step from, and re-attachment of the step to, the guide member 32.

It should be noted also that the arms II and I2 bear against the under side of the reinforced side wall 20 of the step when the step is in its lowered position, as in Figure 2. This adds a further preventitive against tipping of the stool, and particularly against tipping in a direction toward the lavatory or wall.

The inner ends of the arms II and I2 are bent laterally to provide the bearing portions 33, best shown in Figure 5, for pivotally or hingedly supporting the arms in the wall brackets I3 or I4. The wall bracket I3 comprises a casing 34, formed of sheet metal, generally U-shaped in horizontal section with laterally extending, mounting flanges 35 and 36, these flanges being provided with openings 31 for the reception of wood screws or the like used to secure the bracket to the wall board I5. The casing 34 is provided, near its upper and forward portion, with a slot 38, in each wall, extending generally forwardly and downwardly, and the transverse portion 33 of the arm II is received and is freely rotatable in the lower and forward ends of these slots. A cap 3S, having the downwardly extending side walls 40, is provided to cover the open top of the casing 34. The side walls 40 of this cap extend forward to the position indicated by the numeral 4I, and it may now be understood that, when the cap is placed in position, the forward edges 4I of the side walls serve to retain the bearing portion 33 of the arm II in its proper position in the slots 38. The cap 39 is held in place on the casing by means of the projections 42 on the lower edge of each side wall 40, these projections adapted to engage within the aligned openings 43 in the side walls of the casing.

The toggle arm 44 is aixed to the transverse portion 33 of the arm II by welding as indicated at 45. The outer end of this toggle arm is provided with a pin or rivet 46, to which one end of the torsion toggle-spring 41 is pivotally secured. The other end or arm 48 of this togglespring is anchored by means of the pin 49 to the side wall of the casing 34. This anchor pin is so positioned that the spring and toggle arm 44 will be on one side of the dead center position when the step is in its lowered or normal position, and will be on the other side of the dead center position or as indicated by dashed lines at 41A and 44A, when the step is in its raised or out-of-the-way position.

A quarter-round section 5U is removed from the lower rear portion of the casing to permit the casing to be installed over a quarter-round molding, such as that indicated at IEA in Figures 1 and 2.

The manner of use of my utility step is believed to be self-evident. When the step is in position for normal use, as in Figure l, the mounting arms II and I2 are urged downwardly by means of the toggle-springs 4l and the step is thus held securely in place against the floor. This arrangement, particularly in conjunction with the outwardly flared legs of the step, practically eliminates the possibility of the step being tipped over. The step may be easily and correctly positioned for use by even a small child and yet may be easily moved back to its out-ofthe-way position by simply placing the toe of the shoe beneath the forward edge and then lifting.

The modied form of wall mounting bracket, as shown in Figure 6, is of somewhat simpler construction than that illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. This bracket comprises a plate-like member 5I having laterally projecting flanges 52 and 53, by means of which, the bracket may be screwed to the wall and iioor. The lower rear corner is cut out to permit the bracket to be installed over the quarter-round molding of a base board.

This form of mounting bracket is preferably in the shape of a quadrant, with the curved outer edge 54 flanged and serrated or scalloped as at 55 in order to engage the mounting arm IIB. This mounting arm IIB is similar to the arm II described in connection with Figure 1 except that the transverse bearing portion 33A is received through an opening 56 at the center of the quadrant and the outer end of this transverse portion is threaded to receive a nut 51. A leaf spring 58, formed as shown and apertured for reception over the threaded portion 33A, serves to hold the arm I IB in rm engagement with the scalloped flange 54 and thus, when correctly adjusted, will easily support a step in its elevated position in the same manner as the device of Figure 1.

Although I have described specific embodiments of my invention, it is apparent that modifications thereof may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a device of the character described, a step, a pair of wall brackets adapted to be mounted on a base board, a U-shaped arm hingedly connected, at its ends, to the said wall brackets, and the legs thereof extending between the legs of the step, and a hinge plate mounted on the under-side of the step spaced from the edge thereof, and formed to provide a clip for hingedly and removably engaging the cross portion of the U-shaped arm, whereby the legs of the U-shaped arm will contact the underside of the step, when the step is lowered, to thereby prevent tipping of the step rearwardly toward the baseboard.

2. In a device of the character described, a step, one or more arms hingedly connected, at one end, to the said step and having transverse bearing portions at their other ends, a wall bracket including a casing having slots in the upper portion thereof for receiving the transverse bearing portion of the arm, a cap adapted to close the top of the casing and secure the bearing portion of the arm within the slots, the arm having an extension thereof disposed within the casing, and a toggle-spring operatively connected to the said extension to selectively urge the arm and the step toward a lowered Vor a raised position.

3. In a device of the character described for use in conjunction with a lavatory having drain piping extending therebelow, a pair of wall brackets adapted to be mounted below the lavatory and on either side of the drain piping, a U-shaped arm pivotally mounted, at its ends, in the brackets, a step having spaced-apart legs, a hinge plate secured to said step adjacent the underside and between the legs thereof, said hinge plate having clips adapted to detachably engage the cross portion of the U-shaped arm, the said brackets having Vmeans for selectively securing the U-shaped arm in a generally horizontal position or a generally vertical position to thereby selectively secure the stool in lowered position or raised position beneath the lavatory, the step adapted to pivot on the cross bar of the U-shaped arm so as to hang downwardly therefrom with the legs of the step on opposite sides of the drain piping when in raised position.

4. In a device of the character described, including a pair of wall brackets adapted to be mounted on a base board; a step, a U-shaped arm hingedly connected, at its ends, to the wall brackets, means for demountably securing the step to the U-shaped arm comprising a hinge plate mounted on the underside of the step between the legs thereof and formed to provide a hook adapted to pivotally receive the bight of the arm, the hook being so positioned and spaced from the edge of the step that; the legs of the U-shaped arm will contact a portion of the underside of the step, when the step is lowered, to thereby prevent tipping of the step rearwardly toward the brackets.

NORMAN J. HARVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

